Excellently launched by Julia Simon, the best winter biathlete so far, and Anaïs Chevalier-Bouchet, the blue relay, completed by Emilien Jacquelin and Fillon Maillet, finished third 55 seconds behind the Norwegian quartet (Tandrevold, Roeiseland, Laegreid and Boe).

Italy, led by Lisa Vittozzi and Dorothea Wierer, came between the two, 11 seconds behind.

QFM didn't spare his teammates a big scare, however, when he headed off in the wrong direction in the finale, all smiles, clenched fist and hand waving to the audience...before realizing his mistake, halfway - turn and spin in the right lane in extremis.

On the finish line, the five-time Olympic medalist in 2022 was only three seconds ahead of Austria, at the foot of the podium.

“Quentin scared me very much, says Jacquelin. you have to turn around, otherwise it doesn't do it... There is a little bit of stress when I realize that (the Austrian) Simon Eder is coming behind."

- "No line and no colleagues..."

"And we can't do anything, not prevent it, nothing, adds Simon. But it ends well, we can laugh about it now."

"Otherwise, it would have been a great anecdote for the FFL", smiles Jacquelin in reference to this Twitter account which takes the side of having fun with the setbacks of French sport.

"It seems ridiculous when you look on the screen but in real life, if you are not completely concentrated, it can happen quickly, continues Simon. It's a very hard track, very demanding, I think it's the skin was well done and that it lacked a little bit of lucidity."

The Norwegian Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold and the French Quentin Fillon-Maillet discuss after the arrival of the mixed relay of the Biathlon World Championships on February 8, 2023 in Oberhof in Germany © CHRISTOF STACHE / AFP

"It was for show..., jokes Fillon Maillet. It was a mistake on my part, I was inattentive, I did not spot where I was supposed to arrive, and a little in the red too. J wanted to celebrate with the public. After a few meters, I saw that there was no finish line and no colleagues... If we had finished fourth because of a mistake like this- there, I would have liked it a lot."

Before this ultimately inconsequential mishap, Les Bleues, only one pickaxe ball each, showed a better face than Les Bleus, just like the season.

"Not easy" even for Boe

"This first stint gives me confidence, appreciates Simon. I did a good biathlon, with good shooting, and on skis, it allows me to take marks on this not easy track."

In the position of third torchbearer, Jacquelin handed over to Fillon Maillet neck and neck with Norway, but after four missed targets.

Faced with Boe, QFM used his three balls lying down, like the Scandinavian, before concluding with a convincing 5 out of 5 standing (4/5 for Boe).

"Maybe it was stress, maybe thinking more about widening the gap than focusing on shooting, it's a race for the World Championships, it's not easy" , explains Boe.

In any case, the Norwegian champion, without equal this winter and of whom one wonders if he can become the first biathlete to achieve an individual Grand Slam at the Worlds, climbed from the opening race on the highest step of the podium. - once is not customary in Oberhof, under a radiant sun.

Her first individual race, the sprint, is scheduled for Saturday, the day after the women's event.

His golden gloves have every chance of coming out for the occasion.

© 2023 AFP